Charlotte Hornets: Miles Bridges should start next season

The Charlotte Hornets have a future star in the making, and they need to get him in the starting lineup next season.

With Miles Bridges’ rookie year in the books, the Charlotte Hornets now have a decision that they must make before the beginning of next season. This decision will be on if Bridges should be included in the starting lineup.

As a rookie, Bridges made strides in his production, and he became more dangerous as the season ended. He finished his rookie year by averaging 7.5 points and four rebounds per game.

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This may not sound like a whole lot, but Bridges did the most damage when he was in the starting lineup. Bridges did not consistently get into the starting lineup until after the All-Star break, that is why his production was not as high at the beginning of the season.

As a starter, he averaged 9.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game for the Hornets. This was dramatically better than what he averaged at the beginning of the season when he was coming off the bench.

In the final two months of the season, Bridges averaged 9.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Bridges even finished the last two months hot, shooting at 48% from the field, and 33% from beyond the arc.

His three-point game is still a work in progress, but Bridges gradually improved on this throughout the season. His main weapon this season was his ability to finish around the rim.

On the season, Bridges successfully threw down seventy-one dunks, and 77% of them were assisted. Due to his ability to finish great around the rim, he also finished the season shooting 67% in the paint.

What is sad, is that the person who started most of the season in Bridges’ spot, Nicolas Batum, shot a lower percentage in the paint than Bridges. It’s sad to think that the Hornets are paying $25 million to someone who was basically outplayed by a rookie this season.

With Bridges finishing the season as well as he did, I don’t see any reason why Coach James Borrego wouldn’t put him in the starting unit to begin next season. As a starter in the team’s final ten games of the season, Bridges would help lead the Hornets to a 6-4 record.

Bridges has the potential to take his game to the next level next season, and he should be given a chance to start the season hot as a starter. I think its time that the Hornets keep Batum out of the starting lineup; he hinders Bridges’ production when they play together.

Coach Borrego had a lot of success playing Bridges at the end of the season. Bridges helped out a lot in the Hornets’ huge games against the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors.

I expect Bridges to have a great sophomore season, and I see him getting another shot at trying to win the Dunk Contest next year. With Bridges on this squad, we have a lot of things to look forward to in the coming seasons.